Government in the Republic

After the kings of Rome were expelled, the Romans established a republic. The Latin words res publica meant 'the public things'. The Romans remained fearful of one man becoming too powerful. The Republic distributed political power among many magistrates and assemblies. There were many offices in the Roman Republic.

Cursus honorum

The cursus honorum was the 'ladder' of political offices in the Republic. A Roman politician would enter politics and climb the ladder of offices. Refer Image1 and animation 

The easiest way to enter politics was by serving in the army. Most Roman politicians had spent ten years or more in the army, fighting on the frontiers of the Roman empire. In the early Republic it was only possible for patricians to enter the cursus honorum. This changed when plebeians and equites demanded more political equality. By the late Republic, it was possible for any Roman to enter politics after serving in the army.

A Roman could run for the position of quaestor first. Twenty quaestors were elected every year. The quaestor was responsible for overseeing Rome's finances.

Rising through the ranks of the cursus honorum was easy for wealthy Romans. Budding Roman politicians would spend their money on the Roman citizens, hoping to win supporters. Patrons would call on their clients, open their homes to strangers and give them bread, hold games and festivals, all in an attempt to win publicity, popularity and support.

An ambitious Roman was able to flaunt his wealth and scramble for popularity if he was elected to the position of aedile. Only four aediles were elected in each year. Their duty was to organise public games, corn supplies and maintain public buildings.

Another powerful political position was the office of tribune. The plebeians became frustrated with the patrician monopoly on political power. In 494 BC, the patricians created the office of tribune.
The tribune was a representative of the plebeians who had the ability to veto decisions that were not beneficial for the plebeians. Tribunes were also able to make laws without consulting the Senate. Ten tribunes were elected a year and had great political influence.

If an aedile had won enough support from the populace, he could run for the position of praetor. There were only eight praetors elected in Rome every year. The duties of praetors involved overseeing the judicial system. They acted as supreme judges.

After praetors had served their time, they could run for the highest position in the cursus honorum or they could retire as a governor of a Roman province.

At the top of the cursus honorum were the two positions of consul. These positions were open to patricians only. The two consuls acted as overseers of the daily running of Rome. They had imperium, supreme executive authority. This meant that they were in charge of the military, bureaucracy and judicial system. The two consuls wore togas bordered with a purple band symbolising their power. They were accompanied by groups of men who carried fasces, double-headed axes which enclosed bundles of rods. The fasces were symbols of the consul's traditional right to beat people. Refer Image2

The consuls had auspicium, the right to take auspices. Before any major decisions were made, the Romans had to consult the gods. This could be done in a number of ways, from watching the flight of birds, to checking the entrails (internal organs) of animals for disease. The consuls also had the right to veto one another.

Consuls held office for one year only. Former consuls could travel to other Roman provinces and become proconsuls or governors.

Other former consuls could become censors. Every five years two consuls were elected to make the census of births and property ownership. They also supervised tax collection and enrolled new senators. Like the office of consul, two censors were elected to avoid corruption and making mistakes. The office of censor was prestigious and respected.

The Senate

The Senate was a council of men from the patrician class. During the history of the Republic, the number of senators was increased from 100 to 600. The Senate was an advisory council for the consuls making major decisions on war and peace and supervising magistrates. It also had the right to veto decisions made by the assembly. Refer Image3

Anyone who reached the office of quaestor was admitted to the senate. Senators held their seats for life. Holding a position in the Senate was considered prestigious and senators were marked out from the rest of the population by wearing special sandals and togas with a broad purple stripe along the edge.

Comitia curiata

The Comitia curiata was the people's assembly. Rome was divided into a number of suburbs called curiae. People voted according to the curia in which they lived. The comitia curiata was open to all Roman citizen plebeians. It was in the comitia curiata that plebeians were able to elect consuls and vote for or against proposals made by the consuls.

Dictator

A dictator was one man elected to run the government in times of emergency. He had the supreme power of a consul without anyone to veto his decisions. It was through the office of dictator that the Roman Republic was slowly transformed from a Republic into an Empire.